Chat up other parents
If you care for small children, you probably stand on a lot of movie lines, go to a lot of parks, and eat way too much pizza. “After school and college, adults have to be more intentional about making friends. If you’re a parent or grandparent, you can often quickly connect around various children’s activities,” suggests Helen Odessky, PsyD, a psychologist, and author of Stop Anxiety From Stopping You. Parents can be as cliquish as kids, but don’t be intimidated by the moms or dads you see, chatting each other up in the schoolyard or park. Your common frame of reference is your children, so use that as a conversation starter when making friends as an adult.
You can ask for opinions about the homework assignment, school dress code (or lack thereof), or any other child-related topic you can think of. The worst that will happen is you’ll have a one-time conversation with someone, and call it a day. The best-case scenario is that you’ll enjoy each other’s company, and seek each other out until eventually a friendship blossoms. You can use the same strategy in children’s museums, waiting for the bus, or in child-friendly cafés.
